Tuesday, 9 December 2014

Second Unit summary of First two lessons....

AND THEN GANDHI
CAME

Jawaharlal
Nehru writes about the timely arrival of Gandhiji to Indian politics in his
book “The Discovery of india”. He emphasizes the dynamic leadership of Gandhi.
He describes Gandhiji as a beam of light that removed the darkness. Nehru thus makes the right assessment of
Gandhiji.

When the
First World War came to an end people expected peace, relief and progress. But
it brought repressive rule and martial law. People felt that they were being
humiliated. Large numbers of people became unemployed. People were in great
confusion. They did not know how to free India from poverty and misery.

It was at
this critical period that Gandhiji came. It was like a powerful current of
fresh air. It pierced the darkness that surrounded the people and he taught the
lessons of fearlessness and non-violence. Gandhiji was an ordinary man. He was
one among us. He exhorted the people to stop their exploitation. His teachings
instilled fearlessness and truth. He worked dor the welfare of the common man.

When
Gandhiji became the leader of the people, fear was disappeared to a large
extent. Truth followed fearlessness. It was like a psychological change. There
was a psychological reaction also. People felt ashamed of being under foreign
rule. Here came a need in the minds of the people to throw away the foreign
rule.

Gandhiji
influenced millions of people in India in different degrees. Different people
reacted differently at this situation. Some people were ready to comprehend
the change. Others were not ready to have a total change. At this time Gandhiji
came with a two-fold action. One was to challenge and resisit the foreign rule
and the other was to fight against our social evils. At this time the
fundamental objective of the Congress was to attain political freedom.

As a result
of Gandhiji’s influence, several people were ready to give up their titles.
People did not respect British titles. New values and a new way of life were
implemented with the powerful leadership of Gandhiji. Many people adopted
simpler ways and wore simple dresses.

Gandhiji had
his own ideas and dreams of free India. He sent volunteers for the
rehabilitation of Indian villages. These messengers helped the Indians to come
out of their shells. He wanted to make India a place without any class
distinctions and rigid caste systems. According to him an ideal India would be
free from the curse of untouchability , intoxicating drinks and drugs.

Nehru says that Gandhiji was truly proud of his Hindu
inheritance. He tried to give Hinduism a kind of universal attire which
included all religions. Indian culture according to Gandhiji is a fusion of
all. Thus Gandhiji attracted the common
people of India like a magnet. He was a link between the past and the future.
He effected a psychological revolution even among his opponents.

THE PRICE OF FLOWERS

“The Price
of Flowers” is a story written by Prabhat Kumar Mukhopadhyay. It underlines the
bond of human relationship. This story really makes us understand how words and
deeds act as a soothing effect.

This story
portrays the life of a young poor girl named Alice Margarett Clifford(Maggie)
who was far away from her beloved brother Frank. Gupta was an Indian living in London. Once he met Alice in a vegetarian restaurant. She was also called
Maggie. She was working as a typist in a nearby office. Her mother made cakes
to sell them on Saturdays. She was from a poor family. She wanted to know if
Gupta was an Indian. Her brother Frank had gone to India as he was a soldier in
the military service.

Gupta once
went to Maggie’s house to meet her mother. Her mother was anxious to know about
India as she heard that India was a dangerous place to live in. She believed
that most of the Indians had the rare power to see a person living in a distant
land by gazing at a crystal ring. Maggie and her mother wanted him to look into the crystal ring and say how Frank
was. Gupta told them that he did not
possess such a power.

One day Gupta
received news that Maggie’s mother was not well. He went to their house immediately.
Maggie wanted him to gaze into the crystal and say whether Frank was safe.
Reluctantly, Gupta took the ring and told a lie that Frank was safe. Maggie’s
mother was happy and soon became well.

Later Gupta
was shocked to learn that Frank had died in the war. Gupta felt very sad. Then
in the morning of his last day in London, Maggie came to see him. He was
packing up things. She gave him a shilling to buy flowers and place them on her
brother’s grave in Punjab.

LIVE TV REPORT OF LE HORLA

Now I am standing very close to La
Villette, the place where Le Horla is about to take off. About 300 people are
standing here to witness the starting of this wonderful event. Captain Jovis
and the other travelers are ready for the ride. First Lieutenant Mallet jumps
aboard. Mr. Mallet is followed by three more persons, including Mr.Guy de
Maupassant.

W ell, La Horla the balloon is also
ready for the ride with the command of Mr. Joliet. The rope has been cut. Oh!
The moment the rope is cut, the balloon starts flying upward. Vow!What a
spectacular scene! The multicoloured balloon has its take off now with a team
of courageous men headed by Captain Jovis. The balloon is moving in a moderate
speed as you can see in the visuals.

“Death the Leveller” is a powerful
poem by James Shirley which reminds us that death is a force that haunts all
human beings. It is also treated as a funeral song. It says that death is a
great leveler.The high and the low, the mighty and the meek, the rich and the
poor are all equal before death. This is a very common idea, but Shirley gives
depth and vividness to this common truth. Human glory will not last long. All
success and victory are mere shadows, not substantial things. When death
catches hold of someone with icy hands the rich and the poor, the powerful and
the weak must yield. We have no weapon to fight against this almighty fate.

The poet discusses the concept of
artificial success and victory. In the last stanza, the poem ends with the idea
that only our good deeds will be remembered for ever. We can simply boast of
our mighty deeds but they don’t have permanency. The scepter and the crown are
symbols of their power and glory. All will be reduced to dust.

Scythe and Spade represent the poor
working class. All will die whether rich or poor. Some men may achieve military
glory in battle fields. They will gain honour and fame by defeating their
enemies. Their strength will be weakened. The nerves will lose their strength.
They can not control death. Death is too powerful for them and they can do
nothing against it. The poet speaks of death as an inevitable end. Every minute
we are slowly creeping towards death.

. The mighty deeds or the glory of
human beings are equated with the “Withering of Garlands”. Our head may be
decorated with garlands. But these will soon dry and wither away. Therefore let
us not boast about our so called mighty deeds. The victorious king will soon
become the victim of death.He will be like an animal sacrificed on the altar of
death. Bluish red blood will drip from his head. Every head will one day be
buried in the cold tomb. Only just and good actions will be remembered after
death. They will be like the fragrance of sweet-smelling flowers.

The rhyme scheme of the poem is
consistent throughout the poem The Scheme of ababccdd follows in each of the
stanza. The pattern creates a rhythm as the first four lines of each stanza
illustrate and the four lines give more depth to the poem.